// Prerequisites
What to read before Designing Secure Software
If Designing Secure Software feels too steep at intermediate level, here is what to read first. Lighter books in the same topics that build the prerequisites this one assumes.
01 · 2014
Threat Modeling
Adam Shostack's practitioner-oriented introduction to threat modeling: STRIDE, attack trees, and how to fit the practice into a real software-development lifecycle.
Intermediate5/5Adam Shostack02 · 2020
Web Security for Developers
Malcolm McDonald's developer-side primer on the OWASP-class issues, framed around real attacks and defended with code patterns rather than vendor products.
Beginner4/5Malcolm McDonald03 · 2019
Foundations of Information Security
Jason Andress' compact tour of the field: confidentiality / integrity / availability, identification and authentication, network and OS controls, written for newcomers and adjacent disciplines.
Beginner4/5Jason Andress04 · 2021
How Cybersecurity Really Works
Sam Grubb's gentle, exercise-driven introduction for non-specialists who need a working mental model of attacker behaviour and basic defence.
Beginner4/5Sam Grubb05 · 2010
Cryptography Engineering
A working engineer's introduction to cryptography that takes implementation pitfalls more seriously than most.
Intermediate4/5Niels Ferguson, Bruce Schneier, Tadayoshi Kohno06 · 2020
Alice and Bob Learn Application Security
Tanya Janca's hands-on AppSec primer covering threat modeling, secure design, secure coding, testing, deployment, and the social side of running an AppSec program — through a friendly, narrative-driven structure.
Beginner4/5Tanya Janca07 · 2017
Practical Packet Analysis
Chris Sanders' working manual for Wireshark, geared at troubleshooting and incident response rather than abstract protocol theory. Updated for Wireshark 2.x.
Beginner4/5Chris Sanders08 · 2021
Cyberjutsu
Ben McCarty maps declassified medieval ninja scrolls onto modern adversary tradecraft. More analogy-driven than technical, useful for security-program framing.
Beginner3/5Ben McCarty